


Truths About Steve Palchuck

by Random_Nerd3



Series: Tales of Arcadia Fanfic [8]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Wizards (Tales of Arcadia)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Steve Palchuck, Claire Nunez Is A Good Bro, Coming Out, Destiny sucks, Found Family, Gen, M/M, ask/prompt, but only mentioned, douxie is sort of in this, let steve have feelings 2020, supportive friends, they communicate for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25862479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3
Summary: The night after their adventures in the Lake, Claire realizes she still hadn't checked up on Steve like she planned. While waiting for Douxie to return with the Time Map, they have a conversation about their worries about being dragged back into another war for destiny's sake.For @yellowmagicalgirl on Tumblr.
Relationships: Steve Palchuck & Claire Nunez, Steve Palchuk/Eli Pepperjack
Series: Tales of Arcadia Fanfic [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870741
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	Truths About Steve Palchuck

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> Hope you guys like this one. This was my first time writing Steve! I really liked the challenge. Feel free to leave requests if you want, my Tumblr asks will get answered first though.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: @Random-Nerd-3
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~R

When Douxie left Claire and Steve alone in their shared room she realized how…  _ off _ Steve had been throughout their whole journey. Looking at the jock now, she could see the bags sagging under his eyes as he lazily cleaned the tooth he recovered from the Lady of the Lake. “Hey Steve!” Claire called out, closing her shadow magic book. Steve didn’t respond, he just stared blankly at the clean surface of the monster tooth. “Steve?” She tried again, this time walking over to him and sitting in the cot next to him. Steve flinched when she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Is everything okay?” Claire asked him, concern laced in her voice. Steve shifted so he was out of her reach, then leaned his back against the wall with his arms behind his head.

“I’m fine Claire, why do you care?” He asked passive-agressivley. “Not like my feelings mattered before,” Steve pointed out, recounting their recent adventure with the Lady of the Lake. Claire sighed,

“I didn’t mean it like  _ that _ Steve. It’s just -” to her surprise Steve cut her off,

“ - we had to fix Excalibur first, I know.” Sighing he said, “first it was trolls, then aliens which - by the way - we could’ve used your help with. Now we have to deal with another apocalyptic catastrophe? It’s not fair, why can’t we ever catch a break?” He whined, sinking low into the mattress. Claire couldn’t help but remember the time when she shared similar thoughts of doubts.  _ Why did destiny choose them? What if they weren’t good enough? How were teenagers supposed to be able to stop disaster after disaster if they’re only running on fumes? _ Instead of answering, she let them fall into an easy sort of silence. Steve sighed softly, “you know since I lost Pepperjack and he decided to stay on Akaridion… I haven’t been able to get eight hours of sleep since. Toby, Krel and I’ve been cleaning up from Morando’s temper tantrum on the weekends and school’s just getting harder without anyone there to really rely on...” Claire hummed,

“You and Eli did seem to be pretty close when Jim and I left for New Jersey.” She said, half-teasing. “Did anything actually happen between you too?” Claire always thought Eli and Steve would make an awesome power couple. Not that Steve was at the point of recognizing his own feelings, but his bond with the geek was obvious to anyone with eyes. To Claire’s surprise Steve answered with a dreamy sigh,

“We went on a date once. It was before Aja and I became an official thing.” Realizing what he just admitted Steve tripped over his words, “I mean uh  _ crap _ . It wasn’t really a date  _ date _ . We just went to the cafe and had dinner together, then walked through the park - ugh!” He groaned in frustration, throwing up his hands in distress. He scratched the back of his head anxiously. When Steve looked at her his eyes were wild with concern and secrecy. Claire couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle,

“Don’t worry Steve. Your secret’s safe with me.” Steve rolled his eyes. With a scoff he said,

“Right, like you won’t go running to Lake with this the first chance you get.” Pushing herself up, Claire leaned against the wall next to him. She turned to face him as she spoke,

“Hey, it’s not my secret to tell so I won’t tell it. Not even to Jim. I wouldn’t hurt you or Eli like that, even if he’s on Akaridion 5 right now.” Steve still didn’t seem to trust her, but sighed in defeat.

“Thanks Nunez,” he said appreciatively. With a Steve-like wiggle of his eyebrows he said, “you know, you and Lake can be pretty cool sometimes.” Claire grinned then flopped back onto the mattress. Tired she said,

“I like to think so myself.” Next to her Steve stretched an arm around her shoulder and she curled into him. “Do you think Douxie’s right?” She asked after a few minutes of silence. 

“right about what?” Steve prompted her. Claire gestured around them,

“About being able to get us back home.” Steve thought for a second then said,

“I don’t understand how a lot of things work Claire, but I do know this… my gut is saying we can trust Douxie. If he says he can get us home, then he will. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’ll make empty promises. If he can't, then he'll do his damn best to try.” Claire gave Steve a small nod,

“You’re right, and not just about that.” At Steve’s slightly confused look she explained further, “I’ve got a feeling that these wizards are going to make things even  _ more _ interesting than they already were." Steve nodded in agreement. The two of them let the sounds of Camelot lull them to sleep as they waited for Douxie’s return. At least they would have one night of rest before another end of the world began.


End file.
